Travel management company sourcing exercises have been flowing fast in 2025. There are lots of reasons for it—not the least of which is the American Express Global Business Travel-CWT merger, which has put a larger number of programs in play than usual, according to industry consultants.
One of the biggest programs in the world, however, had been in a sourcing process prior to 2025 and was looking to innovate. The challenge, it seemed, was that the program may have been too big to apply a consistent technology strategy across all its markets. So, the Deloitte LLP travel program, which has consistently ranked in the top two spots of BTN's Corporate Travel 100 for the last decade and currently is led by managing director of global procurement Chris Freiler did what was once unimaginable: He de-globalized the program.
Deloitte placed its U.S. program with Blockskye, the same blockchain-based provider that PwC's U.S. program went with two years ago. But there was a difference—PwC built the Blockskye platform that also includes the Kayak for Business booking tool not just for its own program but as a product investment to sell travel innovation to clients. That's not the case for Deloitte, which looks to have defined the business case for such a move on its own merit.
Freiler declined to be interviewed for this report. However, the value propositions for the Blockskye and Kayak Enterprise platform include the blockchain-based single source of travel data, which enables the ability to service bookings across the supplier, the TMC and certain self-service changes in the booking tool itself. It delivers new distribution-enabled content and, in some instances, provides cost-of-payment savings that can be significant for both the customer and suppliers.
The move has caught the attention of other programs—perhaps as an endorsement for Blockskye's capabilities but moreso as permission to look differently at traditional, globalized programs.
One consultant, speaking on condition of anonymity to keep client strategies secure, noted the emerging trend among large global programs to consider de-globalization as the pathway to innovation. "The industry has spent years building up the globalization of programs," the consultant said. "We are now having conversations with clients where they're saying, 'Is it time to unpick global because I can then run faster with innovation.' It's a valid step forward if the infrastructure isn't ready for you to switch across globally."
One veteran buyer who attended a Blockskye customer conference this year told BTN, "I love what Blockskye is doing; I love what Direct Travel is doing. I'm interested to see what Serko does with GetThere. … I can't move with any of those suppliers because they really are not global; I can't break up my program."
Actually, Freiler showed that you can.